by Dakota Brown
"Why does he like Doc? That also seems kind of weird."
"I—" Doc snapped his mouth shut again. "I was nice to him when I could have killed him. Guess it made an impression." Doc cleared his throat and glanced away for a moment.
I laughed, I couldn't help it. ‘Nice’ was a bit of an understatement.
Victoria tilted her head at me, but I shook mine. It was too complicated to explain without telling her things it was safer for her not to know.
"I'll try not to ask awkward questions, but it's hard to know what I can and can't ask," she said.
"It's fine, Victoria. We're all grateful for your friendship and understanding," Doc answered.
"Aww!" she gushed.
A soft knock on the door interrupted us, and Victoria went and answered, letting Nikolai in.
"Thank you," he nodded to her before coming in and taking my office chair. The rollers didn't seem to faze him, so he must have encountered a rolling chair already.
He was taking most things in stride today.
"You warded the entire dorm?" Victoria sat down on the bed by Doc's feet.
"Yes. It should be quite safe from magical attacks."
"Thanks, Nikolai."
He smiled at her praise. "You are most welcome."
"Do you want to join us for dinner, Victoria?" I adjusted my position against the wall.
"Where are you going?"
"Nikolai has never experienced the joys of pizza." I smirked.
Victoria smiled back. "I'm in. Maybe you'll let me out of our normal Friday dinner then? I need to head home for the weekend."
"Sure, no problem. I'm quite certain the guys won't mind me showing up a little early this weekend."
"Not in the least," Doc drawled. He took my hint though and sat up on the bed.
I grabbed my backpack purse and a jacket. Victoria grabbed her bag and coat, and gestured for the guys to precede us out the door.
Nikolai and Doc snuck out ahead of us, and we waited about thirty seconds before following.
"Well, he's cute." Victoria nudged me as we walked down the staircase.
"Yeah, he is," I agreed, but I wasn't focused on the conversation.
She nudged me. "Are you okay?"
"I think so. There's just so much going on right now that I never expected. Don't know why it's hitting me now, but it is."
"Maybe it's because your guys suddenly aren't all getting along."
"Ed, Doc, and Allan are getting along fine," I protested.
"Right, but now you have Nikolai."
I raised my eyebrows and gave her a confused look.
"You may not have noticed, Sofia, but he looks at you just like the guys do. And you're giving him puppy dog eyes."
"I am not."
She snickered. "Are too."
"And we literally just met."
"You just met the others, and you fell pretty hard."
I sighed.
"And I wouldn't have pushed you to date them all if I didn't think you liked them," Victoria added. "And you like Nikolai, too."
I sighed again. He wasn't part of the pack, and he'd already told me he didn't want to cause problems for us. I didn't want to cause problems for us, either. Our relationship was so new, any misunderstandings might be hard to deal with.
She gave me a quick hug before we went outside to meet up with the rest of the guys.
Chapter 9
Doc
You've already lost her, Roy.
The words echoed in his head as he drove Nikolai, Ed, and Allan back to the cabin after dinner with Sofia and Victoria. Sam, the mage who ran a curio shop in the main strip of the tourist part of town, had stopped by the pizza place and come by their table. She had known Doc, Ed, and Allan for several years, though, to his knowledge, she hadn't guessed he was essentially a vampire. Being able to go out in sunlight unlike a full vampire and likely being the only half-vampire in existence, at least in the States, made it pretty hard to figure out what he was. Of course, Nikolai had known, but Nikolai claimed to have known several vampires, so maybe it was more obvious when you knew what to look for.
Sam had pulled him away from the table and outside after a quick round of introductions.
"Where did you find a mage?"
Doc shrugged. "Kind of dropped into our lap."
"You know you'll lose her to him, right?"
"What?"
She smiled grimly. "Everything you just gave up for that girl will be for nothing. He's suited to her. Their magic will draw them together as he teaches her."
Doc's heart stuttered, and he clenched his fists, struggling to hide his reaction to her words, but also unable to take a breath.
"Which one of you is dating her, anyway? I thought it was you, but the way Ed and Allan look at her made me wonder."
"Uh." Doc ran his hand through his hair, which he was currently wearing down because Sofia liked it that way.
"Wait, no. I don't want to know." Sam shook her head wryly.
"None of us want to see her hurt, Sam," Doc said, voice low. "If losing her to Nikolai will keep her safe, then we'll just have to deal with it."
"You know the Andersons won't leave you and the boys alone after this. Even if Sofia is gone. Right? That truce you fought so hard for is gone, and the reason for it will be, too." Sam crossed her arms and gave him a look that almost seemed smug.
"Why do you even care so much?" Doc glared back, voice rising slightly.
She took a step back, fear flashing across her eyes.
Doc took a deep breath and tried to tone his emotions down a little.
"I just don't want to see any of you get hurt. Look, I didn't think any of you would know. She may not even know. I'm quite certain Nikolai does."
He shrugged, shifting his feet, and staring at the ground. "It'll be what it will be."
"Their auras have already mingled. You've already lost her, Roy. She just doesn't know it yet."
"Doc?"
He snapped his attention back to the present, braked hard to make the turn off, and focused on the small dirt road to his cabin. He wasn't sure who had spoken to him, but it didn't seem to matter. Did anything matter? He didn't want to lose Sofia. Was it already too late, as had Sam claimed?
They reached the cabin, and he shut off the truck. Everyone climbed out into the dark evening.
His eyes adjusted almost immediately, and he did a quick scan of the area, looking to see if he sensed anything disturbed in the area.
Ed and Allan did the same but didn't appear worried as they headed to the house. They kicked off their shoes, and both sprawled on the couch.
"What's up?" Ed asked when Doc sank down onto the loveseat.
Nikolai sat in the armchair near the window.
"What do you mean?" Doc leaned back and stared at the ceiling, stretching his legs out in front of him.
"Whatever Sam said bothered you. You've barely said a word all night," Ed answered.
Instead of answering Ed, he turned his attention to Nikolai. "Why won't you train Sofia?"
Nikolai answered after considering Doc for a moment. "I already told you, I do not train people already in a relationship. It goes badly. I will teach her a few basic things."
"What about it goes badly?"
"Typically, the other half of the relationship grows jealous of the time the student spends with the teacher."
"That's it?"
"No. I have already spoken with Sofia. She understands."
"But you don't want to tell us?" Doc crossed his arms.
"It is not particularly pertinent." Nikolai shrugged. "It doesn't work well, and I am not going to do it."
"What if it's the only way to keep her safe?"
Nikolai sighed, looking resigned. "The difficulty is this, if you must know. Our magic has resonance. I can teach her beyond basics, but it will draw us together, even if we don't want it. I do not want to cause problems with all of you." He clenched his jaw and frowned.
"Surely you can keep y
our hands to yourself," Ed grumbled.
"Yes, of course I can." Nikolai shook his head. "It is difficult to explain unless you've experienced it."
Doc thought he knew what Nikolai was talking about. When he had helped Sofia first access her magic more deliberately, her magic had washed through him. They'd had no reason not to act on their impulses, and he hadn't thought anything of it. If that was what Nikolai was talking about, he understood why the mage didn't want to get involved, but according to Sam, it was too late.
He brought his attention back to the conversation when he heard one of werewolves growl at Nikolai.
The mage held his hands up. "No, I would not deliberately steal her from you. I do not wish to. It is simply the way magic works."
Ed glared. Allan glanced at Doc, as if looking for help.
"I will demonstrate, if that's what it will take to convince you." Nikolai shifted his attention from the angry werewolf to Doc. He stood up. "Come here."
Mildly annoyed at being ordered around, but not having the energy to argue about it, Doc got up and went over to the mage.
"Thank you. Now, call on magic you carry in reservoir."
Doc hesitated.
"I will replenish it for you, if necessary."
Doc took a deep breath and hoped he wasn't going to regret being the demonstration. Touching Sofia's magic stored in his mother's bracelets, he called it into himself.
"So, see, Doc is using Sofia's magic. The only thing I will do is push my magic into him, as if teaching him new spell."
Before he could even remotely prepare himself, Nikolai pushed a tendril of his rich blue magic into him.
He gasped, Nikolai's magic rushing through him like electricity. Hunger warred with desire as his body instantly aroused. He couldn't even think for a minute, and he nearly went for Nikolai's neck as he practically lost control of himself.
"How do you even get anything done if it's like this?" He trembled with the effort of keeping his hands off Nikolai. It didn't help that the mage's heart was racing, and he didn't seem to be able to move his eyes away from Doc, either.
"This is why family usually teaches each other. It is different with family." The mage's voice was strained. "It is not this bad after the first few times, though it does not get appreciably easier without lots of practice." He bit his lip. "Maybe I should have tried more explanation before resorting to demonstration."
Doc's teeth ached, the need for blood raging through him. It hadn't affected him this strongly in years. He growled softly.
"Go ahead." Nikolai tilted his head, further exposing his throat.
He wanted to resist, almost managed to, until Nikolai stepped forward and put his hand on Doc's chest. The physical contact snapped the last amount of self-control he had left.
Nikolai groaned as he sank his fangs into the mage's neck. He wasn't gentle and was certainly going to leave more of a mark than normal. Nikolai pressed into him, hands clutching at his back.
He managed to stop before he risked actually hurting the other man, leaning back, trembling with his reaction. He still wasn't satisfied, but the blood had taken the edge off of his arousal, though he still couldn't get his fangs to retract, and he might need to talk Allan or Ed into giving him a bit more later. Probably Allan.
Nikolai's dark eyes nearly glowed with the blue of his magic when he met Doc's eyes, though they were slightly unfocused. A smile curled his lips. "My self-control is not so good as yours," he warned before he pulled Doc to him and pressed his lips to the vampire's, clearly not minding the blood.
That did the last of his restraint in. The magic coursing through both of them demanded some sort of release, and he was helpless to deny it. Not breaking off the kiss, he shoved Nikolai back until he was up against the wall, opening his mouth when the mage pressed against his lips with his tongue. Groaning, he lost himself in Nikolai's embrace.
Chapter 10
Allan
Allan watched his friend make out with the mage and couldn't decide if he was turned on or jealous. Maybe a bit of both. He ground his teeth, wondering if he should intervene. If Sofia had been there, it would have been perfect. She could have said if she minded or not, and then he wouldn't feel conflicted. Though he hadn't been thinking of Nikolai in those terms until he'd provoked Doc.
"I don't know if we should just leave them to it, or throw a bucket of cold water on them," Ed joked, though Allan heard the underlying tension and confusion he felt echoed in Ed's voice.
Allan wrenched his gaze away from Nikolai and Doc and turned his attention to his brother. "To be honest, I think Sofia's self-control is better than Doc's, but his is pretty good, and if he can't keep his hands off of Nikolai, then we can't expect her to, either."
Ed sighed, his eyes reminding Allan of a sad puppy. "We're going to lose her, aren't we?"
Allan returned his attention Doc. Nikolai was currently digging his hands into the vampire's very fine ass.
Nikolai finally leaned back, gasping for breath. "Roy," he groaned.
Doc ignored the mage, or didn't hear him. He had his face buried in Nikolai's neck, and the expression on the mage's face showed he certainly didn't mind, though he was trying to get Doc's attention.
"Roy!"
The vampire growled but managed to get a hold of himself. His breath came in heavy pants. He stepped back, putting one hand on the wall and leaning on it.
Nikolai sagged back, letting the wall support him. Allan didn't think the mage would be upright otherwise. His eyes were glassy, and bites bruised both sides of his neck.
Allan winced. That wasn't going to feel good later.
"Sorry," Doc apologized after a minute.
"I knew what I was doing," Nikolai breathed. "I should be the one apologizing."
They both had blood smeared around their lips.
Doc nodded, put his hand on Nikolai's shoulder, and squeezed gently before turning away. "Excuse me." He nearly fled to his bedroom.
Nikolai closed his eyes and sank to the floor, back sliding along the wall.
"Are you okay?" Allan felt he had to ask, though the mage had admitted he knew what he was getting into.
"I’m quite fine. Just lightheaded." Nikolai touched his throat. "Do you think he's angry with me?" He managed to sound worried, despite his endorphin induced haze.
"No, probably not," Allan answered. "He's probably just confused." Allan knew he was.
"Good."
"How much blood did you lose?" Ed asked.
Nikolai waved his hand. "I know a spell to fix that. I spent many military campaigns with a couple of vampires. It’s not so easy to keep them fed unless we're in battle. Not many people are as open minded about being food as we are."
Allan shivered at the implications.
"How do vampires on military campaigns manage sunlight? Seems dangerous," Ed asked.
"I have a spell for that, too," the mage replied. "Would one of you help me to the bathroom? I should probably wash the blood off and heal myself."
"He tore you up pretty badly." Ed sounded surprised. He stood and went over to the mage.
"Yes. I assume he is not usually so rough."
"No, he's not," Allan answered.
Nikolai actually smiled while Ed helped him up.
They left Allan alone in the living room, and he stared at his hands, not sure what to do with himself now. Finally, he decided to go check on Doc.
His pack brother was leaning against the wall, staring out the window into the black night. The lights weren't on, but none of them needed light to see well.
"Are you okay?" Allan came up next to Doc, standing so that he almost touched Doc, but not quite.
Doc had wiped the blood from his chin, but he hadn't made it so far as the bathroom to clean up. He still had some smeared on his cheeks, and Allan could smell Nikolai's blood on the vampire's breath.
"Yes. Is Nikolai okay? I got a little carried away."
Allan did his best to imitate the Russian's accent. "I ha
ve a spell for that."
Doc laughed weakly. "Of course there is."
They stood there for a few minutes in silence before Doc broke it. "I'm sorry, Allan."
"For what?"
"I don't know. I just feel like I should apologize to you. I know you like guys, and you let me take your blood pretty frequently, and, well, you never get anything from me in return."
Allan shrugged, the motion brushing his arm against Doc's. "I have a hand. Two in fact."
Doc's eyebrows rose, and he glanced at Allan.
He blushed. "I, uh, broke my arm once when I was still human. My dominant arm. So…I had motivation to train my other hand."
Doc chuckled. "Still, I'm not sure that's really fair. I know Ed would prefer I kept my hands to myself, but you should tell me what you want."
"Really?"
"I mean, we might want to run it by Sofia." He shrugged. "But I honestly don't think she's going to mind."
"What about you?"
"What do you mean?"
"I never really got the impression you were into guys."
"Allan, until just recently, there was a significant lack of any romantic interests in my life. I'd never really thought about it. While I'm pretty sure I prefer women, I'm apparently not having any issues kissing guys, either."
"Yeah, you seem to be surrounded by interested parties these days."
Doc shook his head ruefully.
"Let's figure out what to do about Sofia before we worry too much about you and me, okay?"
"Sounds good."
Doc put his arm around him and pulled him into a side-hug.
"What are we going to do about Sofia?" Allan leaned against his pack brother. "She needs to be trained, but we'll lose her."
"Sam says we've already lost her. She just hasn't realized it yet."
"That's why you were so upset earlier?"
Doc nodded. "Think Nikolai will share her?"
"I don't know. He seemed adamant he wouldn't train her." Allan replied.
"I'm actually wondering if he didn't think we would be willing to share her with him."
"Are we?" Allan wasn't sure he was comfortable with the idea, but then, he had just watched Nikolai make out with his best friend and it had only bothered him a little, but would it be different if it was Sofia?